(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Mixed results for hunters in Montana, weather impacting take – Daily Montanan [1] ['Keila Szpaller', 'More From Author', '- October'] Date: 2023-10-30 Hunters are having mixed results this season so far, including one record low number of hunters at a check station in Billings on opening weekend, but some young hunters are finding success this year, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Monday, FWP said a number of young hunters killed their first elk this year in west-central Montana, and high school student Cormack Batt drew and filled a mule deer tag in the Bitterroot Valley. Billings saw a record low number 163 hunters on opening weekend, according to FWP. However, their success rate was 21% higher than 2022, and it was also about average during the long term. Weather is affecting the hunt in different areas, from the warm opening weekend on Oct. 21 to the teeth-chattering temps later on, according to news releases from different FWP regions. Region 1, Northwest Montana More than 1,600 hunters appeared at check stations when the season opened last weekend, a slow start across the region based on check station results, FWP said. That compares to 1,754 last year. “The overall number of hunters with harvested white-tailed deer and mule deer was down while the number of elk was about the same compared to last year,” FWP said. This year, 7.2% of hunters had game compared to 13.2% last year. FWP also reminded hunters about chronic wasting disease, or CWD, and testing, which is voluntary. A news release noted CWD is fatal and infects deer, elk and moose. Hunters play a role in minimizing the spread and providing data, FWP said. See sidebar below for details about CWD testing in Region 1. Region 2, West-central Montana The season kicked off with highs in the 60s and 70s, and then dropped this past weekend to highs in the 20s, FWP said. “The second weekend was a bit slower than typical at the region’s four hunter check stations, maybe due in part to the drastic change in weather that brought cold temperatures and snow to the region mid-week, deterring hunters from exploring some locations,” FWP said Monday. Hunters have checked 136 elk, 32 mule deer and 120 white-tailed deer so far this season, according to FWP. That compares to 149 elk, 40 mule deer and 148 whitetails in the same period in 2022. Region 4, North-central Montana Warm, dry weather affected this region as well, but FWP said despite the “less-than-ideal hunting weather,” the overall success rate for hunters stopping at the Augusta check station on opening weekend was slightly above average. On opening weekend, the harvest success rate was 19% compared to the 10-year average of 16%. However, fewer hunters were out, down 4% compared to 2022, FWP said. The cold blast that followed was expected to spur some elk movement, but an updated report on Region 4 wasn’t out late Monday afternoon. However, hunters had checked 15 elk, 30% higher than average for opening weekend “and substantially higher than 2022 when only four elk were checked,” FWP said. FWP said mule deer and white-tailed deer harvest were 15% and 8% below recent averages, respectively, but more than double the number checked in 2022. Region 5, South-central Montana The number of big game hunters who visited check stations in this region dropped from 1,212 last year to 968 this year, or a roughly 20% dip, according to FWP. FWP also said hunter numbers and success rates varied across the region. At Lavina, only 15% percent of hunters were successful, the lowest in the region, FWP said. At Big Timber, nearly 50% of the hunters were successful, the highest in the region. “Harvests for white-tailed deer, mule deer and elk were above the long-term average for this area,” FWP said. “The majority of elk at this check station were bulls harvested on private land. Antelope average was below average.” Hunters must stop at all check stations that they pass, even if they have not harvested any animals. The general big game season runs through Sunday, Nov. 26. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/10/30/mixed-results-for-hunters-in-montana-weather-impacting-take/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/